Fast Cash in 3 Easy Steps
Compare Personal Loans Interest Rates
What are personal loans?
A personal loan is a single payout lent by a financial institution to an individual borrower. Specific terms, such as the amount of money to be lent and the interest rate, are agreed upon in advance by both parties. The borrower has a certain amount of time within which to repay the loan. Regular payments, including interest, are made until the loan is repaid. Personal loans are typically sought for one-time expenses, such as a vacation, study or the purchase of a major item such as a car. Unexpected emergency expenses are another reason that people take out personal loans.
When you are in the market for a new car, do you buy the first one that you see at the first dealership you visit? If you are shopping for a big screen plasma TV, do you buy the first one you see at the first electronics outlet that you visit?
The correct answer to those questions is obviously “no”. When you are shopping for a car, even if you know the make and model of the car you want to buy, you shop amongst various dealerships, possibly even checking things off on an exhaustive checklist to make sure it has all the features that you want, then you spend countless hours haggling with the dealer to make sure you have the best possible price. When you shop for that big screen plasma TV, you look at the sizes, the brands, the warranties, the prices, the rebates, and choose the one that represents the best financial deal possible for you.
Personal loan rates are essential when it comes to deciding as to which credit company you will deal and do business with. You can count on the internet in the process of comparing cash lenders online. In fact, you can count on a lot of things that the internet can help you with especially when it comes to handling your finances and dealing with the process of securing emergency funds whenever necessary.
My first recommendation would be to steer clear of secured loans. The advantage of a secured loan is that you may get a slightly lower interest rate because if you default on the loan, the lender has something they can come and take away from you, such as your car or your home or whatever you put up for collateral. This is not worth it. If something happens and you default on the loan, you could find yourself without a roof over your head or without a car to drive. Of course you don’t plan to default on the loan but things can happen which are out of your control, like a job layoff, huge medical expenses, and other things that you have no control over and cannot forecast. Unless your credit is so bad that you cannot qualify anywhere for an unsecured loan, you are recommended to stay away from secured loans.
The King of Comparison: The APR
The annual percentage rate is probably the most complete tool for comparing different loans. These figures must be used by all lenders due to legal regulations to help protect customers from deceiving advertisement. The APR does not only include the interest rate it also includes additional fees and charges that can help you get a wider and more comprehensive idea of what all the costs of your loan will be.
